Effect of culture time and culture medium volume per explant on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Gerbera jamesonii </i>multiplication in Temporary Immersion System

Abstract

In the world flower industry, Gerbera jamesonii is among the ten plants of cut flower more commercialized. The species can be propagated through seeds, vegetative and through biotechnological techniques. The latter is the most used. In order to determine the effect of culture time and volume of culture medium on the in vitro multiplication of gerbera in Temporary Immersion Systems, this work was performed. Four culture times (14, 21, 28 and 35 days) and three volume variants of culture medium per explant (20, 30 and 40 ml) were compared. A frequency of immersion was used every 8 hours with additional ventilation and as inoculum aggregates of three shoots. It was verified that the two studied variables influence the multiplication of gerbera in TIS. With 28 and 35 days of culture the gerbera shoots showed better morpho-physiological quality and a higher number of shoots per explant. The use of 40 ml culture medium per explant increased the number of shoots, fresh mass and water content of the explants. Key words: cut flower, immersion frequency, micropropagation